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LORD JESUS, COME QUICKLY, COME SOON!

In Revelation, Jesus announces, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7). Five verses later Christ says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (22:12).

Here is the cry of all who look expectantly for Jesus’ return: “The Spirit and the bride say, Come” (22:17). This refers to the bride of Christ, made up of a worldwide body of believers under his lordship. All these servants are born-again, blood-cleansed believers.

You may ask, “I understand this is the believer’s heart-cry. But why would the Spirit also cry to Jesus, ‘Come’?” It is because this is the Holy Ghost’s last prayer, knowing his work on earth is almost completed. Like Paul or Peter who were told by God their time was short, the Spirit likewise cries, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

So, where do we hear this cry of the Spirit today? It comes through those who are seated with Christ in heavenly places, who live and walk in the Spirit, their bodies the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit cries in and through them, “Hasten, Lord, come.”

When was the last time you prayed, “Lord Jesus, come quickly, come soon”? Personally, I can’t remember praying this prayer. I never knew I could hasten Christ’s coming by allowing the Spirit to pray this prayer through me. Yet Peter gives us proof of this incredible truth: “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12). In Greek, the phrase “hasting…the coming of (that) day” means “to speed up, to urge on.” Peter says our expectant prayers are hastening, speeding up, urging the Father to send back his Son quickly.

The Lord’s merciful patience dictates the timing of his return. So, does this mean we shouldn’t pray for his coming? Not at all. Christ himself tells us, “In those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mark 13:19-20). Imagine what might happen if, all over the world, Christ’s bride were to wake up and pray in the Spirit, “Jesus, come.”